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Joan B. Wolf

Is Breast Best?: Taking on the Breastfeeding Experts and the New High Stakes of Motherhood (Biopolitics, 4) Hardcover – December 19, 2010

by Joan B. Wolf (Author)

25 ratings

Book 4 of 22: Biopolitics

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Why has breastfeeding re-asserted itself over the last twenty years, and why are the government, the scientific and medical communities, and so many mothers so invested in the idea? In Is Breast Best? Joan B. Wolf challenges the widespread belief that breastfeeding is medically superior to bottle-feeding. Despite the fact that breastfeeding has become the ultimate expression of maternal dedication, Wolf writes, the conviction that breastfeeding provides babies unique health benefits and that formula feeding is a risky substitute is unsubstantiated by the evidence. In accessible prose, Wolf argues that a public obsession with health and what she calls “total motherhood” has made breastfeeding a cause célèbre, and that public discussions of breastfeeding say more about infatuation with personal responsibility and perfect mothering in America than they do about the concrete benefits of the breast.

Parsing the rhetoric of expert advice, including the recent National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, and rigorously questioning the scientific evidence, Is Breast Best? uncovers a path by which a mother can feel informed and confident about how best to feed her thriving infant—whether flourishing by breast or by bottle.

Print length

258 pages
Language

English
Publisher

NYU Press
Publication date

December 19, 2010
Dimensions

5.98 x 0.75 x 9.02 inches
ISBN-10

0814794815
ISBN-13

978-0814794814
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This heavily footnoted defense of formula feeding will undoubtedly fan the fire between those who believe “breast is best” versus those who think manufactured food is just fine, thank you. Wolf, a political scientist, is on strongest ground when she discusses the history of this emotionally charged topic. Unfortunately, she seems out of her element when describing perceived flaws in medical studies of breast milk and talking about financial issues. Inexplicably, she fails to discuss the price of formula, which can easily run $1,000 to $2,000 a year. Instead, she talks about what she sees as the “exorbitant” costs of breastfeeding. (Presumably, she is referring to how it’s tricky for poor women to hold down a job and nurse their babies.) An expansion of a 2007 article Wolf wrote for the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, this pro-formula book treatise would have benefited from a more nuanced argument. For a better book, see Dr. Naomi Baumslag’s Milk, Money, and Madness (1995). --Karen Springen

Review

"Instead of disputing the science about the chemical makeup of breast milk . . . she (Wolf) posits that the benefits most people associate with breast-feeding studiescannot be separated from the fact that mothers who breast-feed may be more attuned to health and may take more precautions about hygene . . .Wolf rightfully contends that in the government's and acvocate's zeal to increase the numbers of breast-fed babies, they have vastly discounted the harsh realities of breast-feeding in a modern world" -- Tara A. Trower ― Statesman.com

"Wolf confronts the stereotypes of ideal motherhood and explains how public health campaigns and advocacy groups have relied on flawed infant-feeding research to exaggerate any health risks associated with using infant formula." -- Texas A&M University News,tamunews.tamu.edu

"Wolf notes the 'insular and unidimensional zealotry' of breastfeeding campaginers and skillfully uncovers elements of racism and elitism in their behavior toward working women who do not have the luxury to breastfeed." -- A. H. Koblitz ― Choice

"Wolf offers a powerful and important cultural critique...this is an insightful and eye-opening book that will be of interest to sociologists of gender, medical sociologists, and science studies scholars." -- Abigail C. Saguy ― American Journal of Sociology

"Beautifully written, powerfully argued. . . . Challenges the science prescription that all infants must be breastfed." -- Linda Blum,author of At the Breast

"It is the all-encompassing nature of breast-feeding that is the crux of the most interesting part of Wolf's book. She makes a compelling argument that we are a risk-averse culture that has lost all perspective when it comes to risk assessment and our health, and this tendency is particularly pervasive on the issue of breast-feeding In her book, Wolf rightfully contends that in the government's and advocates' zeal to increase the numbers of breast-fed babies, they have vastly discounted the harsh realities of breast-feeding in a modern world." -- Tara A. Trower ― Statesmen.com

"Wolf looks at the breast-feeding studies much like ones that ask whether race matters in the way people vote. She scrutinizes the design of the research and how it's been executed and 'then how it's been reported, both to scientists and to the public'" ― University of Chicago Magazine

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press (December 19, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0814794815
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0814794814
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.24 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.75 x 9.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,864,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,076 in Pregnancy & Childbirth (Books)
- #12,279 in General Women's Health
- #82,879 in Sociology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

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Joan B. Wolf

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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

Decent

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a solid, well-researched book. However, it's a bit slow. I preferred other books on the topic.

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

I bought this book after trying desperately to breastfeed and running into one problem after another. Throughout the process, I consistently felt that my symptoms were downplayed or not treated because the sole focus was on how much milk I was producing. I was treated as though my body didn't matter at all. The prodigious amount of time and money that it required to pump, treat my nursing-related symptoms, and sit with my newborn trying to train him to latch correctly were also just expected of me - I still get mad when people blithely talk about breastfeeding being "free", as though there were no costs involved. Hospital grade pump, pumping bra, nipple shields, pads, nursing clothes, fenugreek, etc. - even if nursing had worked out for me, I still would have had to shell out the $ for all this. (Sure, formula costs money too, but no one out there is claiming that it's "free".)

This book really put things in perspective - not only about breastfeeding but about the way that we emphasize eliminating all possible "risks" to our children, not realizing that we are expending huge amounts of effort on things that are either very unlikely or that have a very low possibility of harm. The whole idea that the mother is uniquely responsible for eliminating all risks to her child's development is problematic. The worshipping of the "natural", as a reaction to science constantly changing and updating its conclusions, is also taken to ridiculous levels.

This book is well researched and thoughtful - a bit on the academic side, but I appreciate that because too often the cultural messages about breastfeeding are based on "studies" that don't actually come to the conclusions that are touted in popular media. It's great to be able to cut through the nonsense and learn what conclusions can actually be scientifically drawn.

34 people found this helpful

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Lara

Excellent discourse analysis of modern motherhood in the US

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2013

Verified Purchase

Although this is not a light read, Wolf's consideration and research is absolutely thorough (with an appreciated dose of dry wit thrown in). I highly recommend this to anyone interested in feminism / women's studies or modern motherhood as a discourse. More generally speaking, this book provides an excellent example of comprehensive, objective discourse analysis.

6 people found this helpful

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Aleah

Excellent resource on breastfeeding AND on how to analyze a study

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2012

Verified Purchase

I think this is a great read for any mother wishing to explore something beyond the current "Breast is best" thinking. I started this thinking it would still have the same generally accepted conclusion that breast feeding is superior to formula - instead I read a well-researched book with very convincing evidence that suggests that many factors contribute to raising a healthy baby - and formula vs. breast milk is among the least of these.

14 people found this helpful

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Doctor Momma

Nuanced Look at Breastfeeding, Disregard Biased Reviews

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2011

Verified Purchase

As a trained researcher with experience across several disciplines and a mother of three (yes, I breastfeed them all ) I've followed the breastfeeding literature (including academic journals) for more than a decade from before I became pregnant and have come to a similar conclusion as Joan - basically the evidence for breastfeeding is less conclusive, the benefits smaller and most likely more short-term than the pediatric community has led parents to believe. Having spent nearly twenty-years immersed in research I found Wolf's discussion of the scientific evidence nuanced despite the biased Booklist reviewer's comment Wolf was "out of her element" discussing it. Wolf's one of the few to question the evidence in print. Health authorities are quick to talk about the assorted benefits without discussing the limitations of the research, one of the most problematic being a lack of accounting for the differences between mothers who do and those who don't breastfeed (that may ultimately explain the "benefits"). This is not merely a "perceived" flaw as Booklist reviewer Karen Springen snarkily writes but a very real and from an empirical perspective, serious limitation making any causal relationship between breastfeeding and its benefits purely speculative. That's Research 101, not a figment of Dr. Wolf's imagination. Nor is this book "a defense of formula" or "a pro-formula book treatise" as Springen alleges - it is, however, a detailed socio-cultural (and evidence-based) examination of breastfeeding, a sorely needed one for people who care about the actual scientific evidence. Not surprising, the book this reviewer finds more compelling and cites in the review turns out to be a rather aggressive pro-breastfeeding book. Don't let the unflattering Booklist review deter you from picking up Wolf's book especially if you prefer actual evidence to opinion and hype.

110 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ale 1975

This is a great book. Carefully researched and revising evidence- you know

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is a great book. Carefully researched and revising evidence- you know? Real data , something that the breastfeeding nazis have never heard of (mind, I AM breastfeeding at the moment)- providing a very sober view on how we got to the consensus on breast is best, and which are its flaws. A must read for everyone, and particularly breastfeeders! Continue nursing until you want, but with no sense of guilt whatsoever, regardless of what any midwife tells you! Go for exclusive, combined, or no breast at all, think with your head, and proudly reclaim your independence in making choices for you and your baby. Signed: The academic mother

5 people found this helpful

M. Bradley

Unbiased and honest - a book new mums desperately need to read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is a brave, honest and scientifically sound assessment of the evidence around breastfeeding. Ms Wolf is incredibly courageous to challenge the norms on this topic and does so professionally and soundly, looking at evidence first and foremost, and setting emotive propaganda to one side. Naturally, people will always leave negative comments when they have set beliefs on a topic, and it is a shame the valid and intelligent reviews have been down voted here. There are so many women feeling pressured and miserable, and for no good reason.

12 people found this helpful

E. Sanders

If you want to read a book that looks at ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

If you want to read a book that looks at evidence and provides critical analysis- read this. Compelling argument, well written. Not surprised there are negative reviews - it's hard for people who are ideologically driven to read anything with a critical distance.

7 people found this helpful

LN1977

At last!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2013

Verified Purchase

Hooray for some sensible breast feeding EVIDENCE! I have long questioned the government machine pushing the 'breast is best' policy, wondering what (if any) the evidence was behind claims of improved IQ, reduced GI and ear infections etc. At last, this book presents the evidence behind the propaganda, allowing intelligent mothers to decide if breast really is best, or if actually, there are other reasons why governments want women to breast feed. Thank you Joan Wolf for being brave enough to write and publish this important book.

12 people found this helpful

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